Executive producer Gary Bass has launched Chop Chop, a New York-based management company that will bring national and international editors to New York to work on spots.
Bass spent 20 years at J. Walter Thompson (JWT), New York, as an executive producer/ senior VP before going freelance last year. Two Super Bowl spots for Budweiser—"Only the Best for Fred" and "The Great One"—via DDB Chicago, were his last freelance spots before he began focusing on setting up Chop Chop last summer.
Bass has established an association with editing companies from Europe and North America, with the intent to expand this base to include outstanding editors from around the world. "Agencies pull in directors from Cape Town, London or Los Angeles—from anywhere, really—and I’ve applied that same formula to the editors," he said. "There’s a lot of great talent outside of New York, and they have very little visibility. Editors in general are one of the last holdouts in the industry to really market themselves."
So far, Bass has formed associations with 18 editors. He will represent Sam Sneade and Mark Edinoff of Sam Sneade Editorial, London; Ian Weil of Ian Weil Editing, London; Marc Langley of The Firm, London; and Doug Hanson and Kevin Whelan of the Amsterdam company DGW.
He has also signed editors from two Toronto companies: Griff Henderson, Michelle Czukar, Andy Ames, David Hicks and David Baxter of Panic & Bob Editorial, and Steve Manz and Mark Morton from The Partners Post. Bass additionally signed Terry Kaney, Tom Perschke and Martha Kelly from Santa Monica- and Chicago-based Avenue Edit; New York freelance editor Colby Parker Jr.; and bicoastal freelance editor Natasha Uppal.
Sneade edited Guinness’ "Surfer" via Abbott Meade Vickers/BBDO London, Sony’s "Unexpected" via B.M.P., London, and the controversial MTV spot "Cocaine" via the network’s London offices. Edinoff edited Nike "Airport" via Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam, Renault’s "Mating" via Publicis, Paris, and "Drunk Drive" via City Office of Information, London. Weil’s credits include the spots "Art" for Mercedes-Benz via Lowe & Partners (now Lowe Lintas & Partners), New York, and Polaroid’s "Demon Bitch" via Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London.
From Panic & Bob, Henderson edited Budweiser’s "Cowboys & Injuries" via Palmer Jarvis DDB, Toronto, and "Close to You" for Molson via Bensimon Byrne D’Arcy, Toronto; Czukar edited adidas’ "Kobe" via Leagas Delaney, London, and Bank of Montreal’s "Mosaic" via Vickers & Benson, Toronto; Ames edited Cincinnati Bell’s "Granny" via Gee Jeffrey & Partners, Toronto, and Visa’s "Zoo" via Leo Burnett Co., Toronto; Baxter edited Budweiser’s "Lobster" via DDB Chicago, Lexus’ "Bug" via SMW Advertising, Toronto, and Compaq’s "Rush Hour" via Ammirati Puris Lintas, Toronto (now Lowe Lintas & Partners).
From Avenue Edit, Kaney edited the Beef Council’s "Meteor" and Nintendo’s "Colorful Side" via Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, and McDonald’s "Boxer" via DDB Chicago. Colleague Kelly edited Minolta’s "Glass Blower" and Everlast’s "Boxer" via Hill Holliday Connors Cosmopoulos, Boston.
Partners Post editor Morton edited Baileys "In-Laws" via Roche Macauley & Partners, Toronto, Ford Taurus’ "Brain" via Young & Rubicam, Toronto, and Levi’s "Feline Mutants" via Harrod & Mirlin, Toronto.
Bass is sending three reels containing approximately three spots from each editor to major New York agencies as an introduction to the service.
The idea for Chop Chop arose from Bass’ exposure to international editing talent during his last two years at JWT, where he produced the agency’s international work for clients such as Kodak, DeBeers and Warner Lambert. "It really opened my eyes and made me realize there is some incredible talent out there—and unless their reels were put in front of me, there was a remote chance that I would ever see their work," he said. "There are some terrific editors in New York, but my experience is that they are always booked. Chop Chop is really about giving agencies access to this great talent they may not be aware of."
Bass said he viewed hundreds of reels and was very conscious of finding a range of styles that would appeal to the New York agency market. He aimed to take on a mix of editors with a background in humor and comedy, storytelling and strong visual presentation. Once an editor has been selected for an assignment, Bass will contact them for availability and will executive produce the job.
When work comes in, Bass will book an edit suite at existing New York facilities such as Post 391, Post Factory and Moving Pictures.
While not everyone he approached opted to join, Bass said that most of the editors expressed interest in his new venture. "All the editors that came on board have very successful established companies in their respective countries," he said. "I wasn’t asking them to move to New York and make a huge capital investment. It’s a situation where any work I get them is icing on the cake. They are obviously not dependent on this to keep their business going, but it will give them some interesting work to add to their reels."
